Category: Menu Monday

MOUTH WATERING….better than that favorite restaurant!

My grandmother always made the BEST Nanner Puddin and I would stand and watch and help her stir and layer and whip and bake! And for the very first time…I’m going to share the recipe with you!

First lets shop:

6-7 Ripe Bananas

1 Box Nilla Wafers (don’t skimp on the cheap brand for this part)

1 1/2 cups sugar, then 6 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups milk (whole milk is best but 2% does ok too)

4 eggs, separated, you’ll need the yolks first then set the whites in the fridge till the end

1 tsp vanilla

Now let’s get this started…can you almost taste it?!?!

Preheat your oven to 425*

In the top of a double boiler start with the 1 1/2 cups sugar, flour and salt and whisk together then add the milk and mix up good. Separate your eggs and slightly beat the yolks and stir in. Put the egg whites in the fridge while we do the rest. Now you will stir this until it is custard like. This WILL TAKE A FEW! Don’t get discouraged it will thicken. This kind of yummy love takes a little time!

While this thickens, line your dish with a single layer of the Nilla wafers…now…I break up a few to fill in the cracks between the round cookies 🙂 Then slice up 3-4 of the ripened bananas atop these.

Once the pudding thickens, remove from heat and add your vanilla extract and stir in about a minute. Pour HALF the mixture into your dish over the banana and cookies you’ve layered.

Now another layer of cookies and bananas then the other half of the pudding…

Now remember we preheated the oven….hopefully its beeped and up to temp because we are almost there….but first…

Get those egg whites out o the fridge and get your mixer ready because its MERINGUE TIME!

Beat the eggs on HIGH and add 6TBSP, 1 TBSP at a time and beat until stiff peaks form. (God bless my grandmother and those who made meringue before we had electric mixers! SHEESH!)

Now spoon this over the top sealing in the pudding, it should look like this (OMG we are alost done…I smell it…I do!)

Bake at 425 about 5-6 minutes until the top gets golden brown. CHECK ON IT OFTEN because ovens vary…but with meringue it REALLY varies. Once its done, take out and let it sit to room temperature before you put it in the fridge. Chill for 2 hours before serving for best results.

Beef Wellington

Love some of the dishes you find at fancy restaurants but can’t always afford to go out? For about the price of one of these meals at a restaurant you can make this Beef Wellington for about a family of 4! You can half the recipe if it just you and love <3

Ingredients:

First let’s get what we will need. All found at your local supermarket!

5 lb Beef Tenderloin (I go to the town butcher for this cut of meat. Chain Supermarkets just don’t live up to my expectations)

4 oz Liver Pate

2 + 4 +4 TBSP Butter

1 Medium Onion Chopped

1 Cup Mushrooms (Sliced

2 Puff Pastries (Freezer Section, Usually sold 2 per box)

1 Egg

1.5 Can Beef Broth

4 TBSP Red Wine

Here we go!

Take your pastries out of the freezer to thaw and soften!

Preheat the oven to 425

Soften 4 TBSP Butter

Place Beef Into Baking Dish (I halved my beef, about 2.5 lb fits per pasty sheet when you wrap it)

Spread the softened butter over the beef

Bake until browned, about 20 minutes. Don’t worry, we are baking it again, we aren’t serving raw meat!

Remove and let beef cool. Reserve the juices for the dip later!

While the beef is baking and cooling, in a skillet saute the onion and mushrooms with remaining 4 TBSP Butter (about 5-7 min)

Remove when finished and set aside to cool.

Next take the last 4 TBSP softened butter and mix it with 4 oz Liver Pate. I used a fork to just smash and mix it all together. Works fabulous!

Tine To Prep and Bake!

Alright! Now let’s get it all together and get it ready for baking! Turn the oven up to 450 to preheat!

At this point you should be able to unfold your pastry sheet. Spread the Pate/Butter Mixture on one of the Beef Halves. (I used a butter knife, it was a bit too thick to use the basting brush) After spreading one side place it on the pastry sheet. Then spread the top side.

Next you want to top it with the onion/mushrooms.

Stretch and close the pastry and pinch it good and closed. Brush with egg white. Then cut a few slits in it for venting while baking. Prepare the second one if you didn’t half the recipe.

Next Bake it at 450 for about 15 min or until the pastry is golden brown. Reduce to 425 and bake about 20 more minutes. Check with meat thermometer, its done at 145 degrees.

Almost there!

Set aside and keep warm while we make the dip!

In a saucepan where you put the drippings from the pans from before add 1.5 cans beef broth and 4 TBSP Red wine and bring to a low boil, then simmer for 10 min. Serve on the side.

Gather Round The Table!

I paired mine with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus and it was Happy Valentines to everyone in the house!

Occasionally it’s always good to eat whatever is in your fridge and freezer. It allows you to get out the old and then later on bring in the new. It also allows for you to not spend money and make do with what you have. I don’t always do this. But I do tend to do it more in the summer when we go on vacation and then need our dollars to stretch until next paycheck. So yes, I am doing it again. LOL Sorry you’re having to see it again. But here’s what’s left in my fridge and what we will be eating for 9 days until my hubby gets paid.

After a week of vacation it’s time to get back at it. Time to plan meals for these kids on summer break. So here’s what we are having breakfast, lunch and dinner for 7 days! What are you eating? I need new ideas!

I love a good challenge. When we get low on funds it doesn’t bother me a bit to see how far I can stretch what we already have. So we are low on funds and don’t get paid for 8 days and here’s what we’ll be eating out of our own fridge this week!

Monday Breakfast (leftovers) Lunch pasta salad with chicken Dinner Homemade pizza (I have cheese about to go bad so I have to use that up!)

Whew it’s not easy to use up what’s in your house. But it can be done. What’s on your dinner agendas this week? I’m always looking for something to help stretch my dollar. Any tips for me? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Can you hear that? It’s the sound of kids sleeping in. It’s a beautiful thing. Truly. I’m so excited for the sleeping in aspect. I’m not so excited for the trying to work at home with 3 kids here aspect. But like all summers we’ll be fine! I love summer. It’s when I try to get my work done before they wake and then we go to the lake and swim and eat all day. Ahh summer. In honor of summer I’m making some simple meals that won’t heat up the house too much.

Ugh I hate finding out I have to be at 2 schools in minutes of each other for 2 different children’s events. Yep that’s what’s going on tonight. Daughter’s play at 6:15 and son’s concert at 7pm. Let the fun and games of trying to be two places at once begin.

Planning my meals does make a difference!

Monday Gave up and we ate at the drive thru. Sonic grilled chicken sandwiches to be exact.

Tuesday Sloppy Joes, baked beans, steamed cabbage

Wednesday Eating at church because of more events going on tonight. Ugh.

It’s a rainy, yucky Monday here. I’m needing to get my menu planned so I can move on with my day. I hate it when I don’t plan because then I’m scrambling at the last minute to throw something together. Here’s our week of meals.

Monday is always meatless. So I’m making vegetable soup and cornbread. The weather is supposed to be bad about dinner time so I will probably make it early so it’s ready.